From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
It is a pathetic true-life story of a physically challenged sports woman, Chituru Grace Nwaozuzu from Ofekata Orodo in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State.
Nwaozuzu is a multi-talented athlete who has won many laurels for her state and country. She was almost taking her achievements beyond the shores of Nigeria, but unfortunately, she was neglected by her own state and country, which probably prevented Africa from winning a gold medal in the World Para-Athletics Championship in Portugal last year.
Nwaozuzu could not represent Nigeria and Africa because she had no money to process her travelling documents. She stated that even when she approached the sports director in her home state, Imo, she was only given a false hope and her sponsors too could not provide her with the financial assistance because she was the only athlete that qualified for the competition from Nigeria.
Instead of Nwaozuzu to be enjoying herself and living a life of affluence like her counterparts in the sporting world, she has been living a life of penury even as her siblings depended on her for survival.
To compound her woes, she is an orphan and had a blind brother to cater for. Her brother has been praying and wishing things would turn around for her, but it appears each passing day leaves her with no glimpse of hope.
Narrating how she embraced sports, she said: “I started with power lifting and won a gold medal in a minor competition. Later on, I ventured into para-athletics and won another gold from there..
“I have represented Nigeria in many competitions that I’ve lost count of gold that I won in major competitions; I won gold in Tunisia in 2021. I went to Switzerland. Immediately I came back from Switzerland, I won gold in another competition organised by CBN in lawn tennis,” Nwaozuzu stated while listing some of her achievements.
On how she lost out in the competition that would have transformed her life in Portugal, she said: “I qualified to represent Africa in Portugal in World Table Tennis Championship, because I was the only one that was granted visa to the competition. I could not go because of lack of sponsorship.
“I went back to my state, Imo, afterwards for a para-sports event in Abuja. I won three gold and one silver medals. We were asked to come to Government House, Owerri for our awards by the governor but unfortunately, he was not around. We were later received by the deputy governor who gave us a handshake and collected our medals, promising us that the governor would receive us,” she said.
But that was never to be. She said even after the Imo State Director of Sports, Ferdinand Emanna, told the deputy governor about her exploits and achievements, still no help came her way till her visa for the Portugal competition expired. According to her, that was how she missed out in her quest to represent Africa in Portugal.
She stated that afterwards, she tried to gather and pick up the pieces of her shattered dreams together. She thereafter left for another competition in Abuja.
Her words: “I left for Abuja again for the Wheelchair Table Tennis Competition which I won again and this time they took me to the Imo State Commissioner for Sports, Uche Onyeocha. This time they have promised me something and I believe they would do it.
“I have always won gold in competitions. My silver may be three or four, others are gold, I want to be the best in the world at what I do, if only I can receive encouragement from the government or philanthropists.”
She has appealed to the state government to help her. She even claimed that she did not have a wheelchair.
Nwaozuzu is an orphan. Her mother died in 2005, and her father followed suit in 2015. She hopes to be a light in the family someday, following her achievements in the world of sports. Her brother is also blind. He always hopes on her and depends on her but when she goes on competitions sponsoring herself, it saddens the brother.
She presently lives in a one-room apartment in a very unfavourable area almost inside the popular Eke-Onuwa Market, Owerri. To make matters worse, she cannot even afford a wheelchair. She has continued to use crutches to enable her move around. Nwaozuzu was discovered by the Director of the Centre for the Right to Health (CRH), Stella Iwuagwu in Owerri during one of her outreaches to the needy in the society. Iwuagwu has promised to give the sports star the life she has lacked through her NGO.
“We discovered her as a result of our visits to such people living such life style, people that are being abused in the society and afraid or ashamed to report such incidents. “You can see such a wonderful athlete that should be living a life of affluence but in abject poverty probably because of her condition. This has got to stop and we urge the Federal Government and the governor of Imo State to come to her aid,” she said.